"Be careful," warned Alain.
"Always," Priam smiled.
Without further delay, Priam headed toward Kazuki and Louis. The man and the hoplite were training together near the river. It seed as though the two warriors were engaged in a slow-motion battle. Priam quickly realized they were simply comparing their respective arts.
Every fifteen seconds or so, they would pause to discuss. What was the most optimal combination? Which hold provided the best immobilization? The difference in physique between n and hoplites was a fascinating subject for a warrior.
In any case, terrestrial and hoplite arts convergence promised a powerful fusion. I'll ask them to teach later.
"I have a quest to finish," announced Priam after spectating an exchange that favored Louis.
Kazuki took a few seconds to catch his breath. Priam was genuinely impressed by the hoplite's work ethic. He had been training for over a day now without a break for sleep.
His attributes alone couldn't explain this; Kazuki was the most motivated and focused person Priam knew. Is it because he is a hoplite, or is he just extrely diligent?
"Put the thrust into practice," Kazuki finally replied. "Don't try anything else for now. If you ss up - and you will - unlearning it will take precious ti."
"No problem. I just wanted to know if you've been that way recently," Priam asked, pointing in a specific direction.
"Where are you planning to go exactly?"
Priam crouched down and traced a circle in the earth centered on the portal that had spat him out into Elysium. One cross symbolized the position of Log-a-rhythm and a second one, the position of the spiders.
"I spotted an old stone tower that housed about thirty spiders. I think it was the day you arrived. My quest requires to destroy them."
Kazuki grimaced. "That was a month ago. Things have changed since then."
Priam had almost forgotten the ti difference between Elysium and the Reunion.
"What do you an?"
"I passed through the area about a week ago. I saw nothing except for kiloters of webs strung between the trees. It's a fortress," summarized the hoplite, tracing the periter of the spider base.
"Damn. I'm not sure it's still worth it."
"It depends. You have a quest, right?"
Priam quickly checked his quest.
Quest: Hunter
Being a prey is a tiring condition. But even prey can sotis beco hunters.
Exterminate the 34 Trichonephila Aether clavipes.
Reward: A scarlet silk ball. Potential 50.
Difficulty: dium
Remaining ti: 3 Days
"The reward is ridiculous. A spool of thread - even magical - won't make face a spider invasion," Priam shuddered.
"Arachnophobe," Louis chuckled. The old man had stepped forward.
"When I was little, very much so. Today, it's just disgust," said Priam.
"Those creatures aren't exactly beauties," Louis laughed, stepping forward. Kazuki shifted to allow Louis to take a look at the map.
"If these spiders have advanced so much, they'll end up reaching here," grumbled Louis. "Soone will have to deal with them."
"You should do it," added Kazuki, looking at Priam.
"I'm not sure... Maybe one of our rivals will take care of it," Priam replied.
Dying trapped in spider webs was an excellent way to die repeatedly.
"Maybe, maybe not. However, the System is fair. If the difficulty has increased, so will the reward. Besides... for these spiders to have developed this much, there must be an explanation - beyond just the ambient ether. Thirty spiders couldn't have built this fortress."
Priam hesitated for another second before asserting his decision. "Since I said I'd do it, I'll do it," he said, standing up.
"A bold way to live."
Upon hearing these words, Kazuki drew his spear in a flash. Priam and Louis jumped before recognizing Mirscella's voice. Priam carefully surveyed the surroundings, trying to spot the thief - or an enemy mimicking her voice. Despite his impressive perception, he detected nothing.
"Mirscella?" he tried after searching in vain for several seconds.
According to Domain, the air pressure varied slightly to his right, and Priam turned in that direction.
"Oh? You can sense ? That's annoying," the thief murmured, reappearing. She stood less than three ters from Priam, and he hadn't detected a thing.
"How?"
The thief gave him a grandmotherly smile - full of kindness and experience.
"Creating skills here is much cheaper. I now have three epic-tier skills. One to escape light, another to negate my scent, and the last to hide my aether signature. I'm pretty sure I made no noise - I have a Title for that. How did you detect ?"
"You displace the air when you move."
Mirscella grimaced. "That's hard to prevent."
"Partial control of friction, maybe?" Priam suggested.
"Perhaps..." The thief looked thoughtful. "Anyway, I don't have enough Potential left to create a new skill. We'll see about that later."
"I'm sure you'll figure it out," Priam encouraged her. "By the way, could you teach how to detect hidden enemies?"
"Of course, that's the whole point of assembling a group of specialists. But it will take ti. Instead, I can co with you today."
Priam winced at these words. "I thought of going alone; I probably won't be able to protect you."
"I planned to stay in your world and only co out if you need . To dodge the webs, for example. I don't think you have much experience in that, do you?"
"None," Priam admitted.
"That's what I thought."
Priam thought back to the stealth Mirscella had displayed. With that kind of skill, she would be safe.
"I accept. Let's go while there's still daylight," Priam said, opening the passage to Concepts Archipelago. He watched Mirscella step in without objection before closing it. The old lady was a professional, and Priam trusted her not to put them in danger.
Which couldn't be said for the two young girls approaching.
"Can I co?" Rose asked.
"No."
"I'm coming," Sphinx declared.
"Nope. Sorry, but this isn't a ga. If you died, I'd be very sad," Priam said firmly but definitively. The argunt struck a chord, and the two girls nodded in a depressed way. Priam still glanced at Louis, who nodded. The old man would keep an eye on the two girls.
After a final embrace, he left the protection of Log-a-rhythm and ventured into the forest.
Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / N 10 / TA 0)
PHYSICAL:
Strength 330 ( 10)
Constitution 477
Agility 313 ( 4)
Vitality 469
Perception 548 ( 10)
NTAL:
Vivacity 294
Dexterity 367 ( 2)
mory 99
Willpower 557
Charisma 414
TA:
ta-affinity 288
ta-focus 213
ta-endurance 165
ta-perception 81
ta-chance 213
ta-authority 12
Potential: 1001 ( 9)
Tier 0
[He Who Eludes Death] charge: PRID.
[Tribulation]: Two Tribulations pending.
Future Tribulations delayed until:
Ti: 178 days 13 hours 45 minutes 19 seconds.
User Comments
0 comments from readers